May 25, 2023 – The development of artificial intelligence has drawn praise in addition to fear and skepticism. But researchers on the University of Illinois Chicago and their colleagues have found that their AI app appears to be useful in treating anxiety and depression. And they hope it might probably soon help shorten long waiting lists for treatment.
In a pilot project Study, A study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health found that Lumen, a voice-based AI-powered virtual behavioral therapy coach, modified patients' brain activity and led to self-reported improvements of their depression and anxiety symptoms.
“This isn't a alternative [for a therapist] however it might be a brief solution,” said Olusola A. Ajilore, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois Chicago and co-author of the study. The app works to get help to people as quickly as possible after they ask for it.
At his school, Ajilore said, the waiting list for therapy was 8 months at the peak of the pandemic. Depression and anxiety have increased for the reason that pandemic began, with depression rates rising to about 32% amongst adults within the United States by 2021 and greater than 40 million with Anxiety disorders, in line with the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
In recent years, quite a few AI-powered mental health programs have emerged that mix computer science and data sets to assist solve problems, including To shipwhich, in line with the corporate, has over 5 million users; Replica, which goals to assist people manage stress; and Mood mission, According to the developers, it is meant to assist users overcome depression and anxiety.
A distinguishing feature of the brand new app is the evidence linking clinical responses to brain imaging results, Ajilore said. While many such mental health apps have been developed, “there is currently a lack of high-quality clinical research on their therapeutic potential,” the researchers wrote.
Results of the pilot study
For the pilot study, 42 individuals with mild to moderate anxiety or depression used the app eight times; one other 21 were within the waitlist control group. The app developed by Ajilore and his colleagues works as a skill in Amazon's Alexa program.
In eight sessions over 12 weeks (4 weekly, then 4 biweekly), study participants, whose average age was 37 and 68% of whom were female, used Lumen via an iPad to treat their anxiety or depression using an approach called problem-solving therapy. All 63 patients had brain imaging done at week 1 and week 16 to trace differences in brain activity.
Lumen is controlled by the patient, with the voice coach acting as a guide to discover an issue, set a goal, find solutions, select one, develop an motion plan, implement it after which evaluate it, the researchers said.
A typical session lasted about 12 minutes, with Lumen users completing surveys and assessments in between. Waitlist users received text messages at similar intervals to the others, asking them to finish surveys and assessments. 81 percent of Lumen users accomplished all eight sessions.
“A lot of the burden is on the patients,” Ajilore said. For example, they're given suggestions on how one can take care of anxiety, and it's as much as them to pick a number of suggestions and implement them.
Depression and anxiety scores decreased in participants within the Lumen group in comparison with the control group. Compared to waitlist participants, the Lumen group had increased activity within the brain area related to controlling considering skills – the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex – and improved problem-solving skills.
Now the researchers are recruiting 200 individuals with anxiety and depression to check the AI voice trainer in a bigger clinical study to further investigate the results on anxiety and depression symptoms. The 200 people can be randomly assigned to a Lumen group (with eight sessions over 12 weeks), in-person sessions over the identical period, or a waitlist control group.
Expert input
Ryan Wade, MD, a psychiatrist who's chief of the addictions division at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut, treats many patients with anxiety and depression. He is aware of the brand new study findings and with AI, but was not a part of the research.
He sees the virtual AI coach as a viable choice to help people get the assistance they need in times of long waiting lists, but in addition understands why a few of his colleagues are hesitant. “A big part of our training is building a relationship with a patient,” he says, and that happens face-to-face.
“It's not going to replace the therapist,” he said of the brand new technology, “but some of their work can be done automatically. That can make it easier for people to get started.” AI, he said, is nice at finding solutions and solving problems – what he calls the routine or rational parts of therapy. “If we work with it, I think we can find that it can be really effective.”